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View Full Version : Some people shouldn't be allowed to work on guns



Fjold
11-27-2009, 09:33 PM
Namely me!

I bought a stainless, fluted 243 barrel off of a member here (Carevera) and decided to put it on an old 110CL that I bought 25 years as a 243 but converted to 22/250 15 years ago.

I got the old barrel off with no problems and installed the new SSS stainless recoil lug and nut. (tight fitting threads, I had to use the nut wrench to get it started). I got the barrel in the action, lined up the lug and put a fired case in the bolthead and screwed the barrel in until it felt solid and tightened up the barrel nut.

I then opened the bolt and pulled the fired case out and then decided to drop it on the magazine carrier and feed it in again. I closed the bolt and then opened it up and there's no case. I looked in the chamber and could see the cartridge head so I shut the bolt again, opened it and still it wouldn't extract the case. Using a cleaning rod, the case pushed out with no problem.

I pulled the bolt out, examined the extractor and decided that it looked worn. So I changed it out with one off of a spare bolthead that I had on hand. I clip another case in the bolt head and the extractor held it firmly. I reinstalled the bolt, dropped another case on the follower, fed it into the chamber and closed the bolt again. I opened the bolt and the case was still in the chamber. Now I'm swearing at it as there is obviously something wrong with this barrel. (Sorry, Carvera)

I loosen the barrel nut, re-check the headspace by feeling the barrel contact solidly with the cartridge case on the bolt and re-tighten the nut. Open the bolt and there's no cartridges case again!

Obviously there is a difference in the old 110 bolthead and the newer barrels so since I was going to order a new stock for this gun anyway, I decide that I'll have to send it in to Fred to get this thing assembled correctly.

I tape the bottom metal, action bolts and magazine release to the barreled action to get it ready to ship and decide that I better include a couple of fired cases that my dies are adjusted to to give Fred a reference point.

I took another fired case from the plastic box and shut the lid and then noticed that the cartridge box said "22.250" on it.

Yes, I had just spent an hour trying to headspace a 243 barrel using fired 22.250 cases!

pdog06
11-27-2009, 09:51 PM
:o

Sometimes it is easy to overlook the simple stuff. Glad you kept wit it and got it figured out.

When I built my 6br, I re- heaspaced it about 5 times cause I would have hard bolt lift on a fired case, but no pressure signs. After a while I decide to pull everything apart, and noticed it would close on that fired case when out of the stock.

The culprit: The front action screw was just long enough to to have hard bolt lift on a fired case, but still close and open an unfired new case with no trouble at all. About 30 seconds with the dremel to grind it down a hair cured it all ::)

Three44s
11-27-2009, 10:18 PM
Fjold,

The fact that you're telling on yourself ....... convinces me that you only had a temporary lapse of thought. If this was your regular MO ...... you'd never fess up to this .......

And in sharring, you've helped to warn other shooters of suffering a similar fate ......

........ providing they heed it!

Regards

Three 44s

Uncle Jack
11-27-2009, 10:18 PM
You have, with some humor, articulated exactly why I use Go/No Go gauges and identify them with a Sharpie in big bold black letters.

I made the same mistake when I first started fooling with firearms. I think it was the end of the last Ice Age.

firemachine69
11-28-2009, 04:52 PM
HAHA. Yeah, I think we've ALL done that. Look on the bright side, you have some spare 22-250 ammo. ;D